W hat’s in a name? There’s a lot of good Will—Shakespeare, that is—plus a couple of Edwins (one a 19th century painter, the other a gospel singer), The Realistic Joneses and a lot of Art to meet and greet this week in New Haven.

Monday, April 16
Back to work, and all those phone messages! Duck out to view a quieter style of orderly phone communications—a gallery exhibit of “over 350 discarded library catalog cards that have been repurposed as canvases for cell phone photos.” The show, called Call to Everyone, involves a slew of Connecticut artists plus long-distance contributors from other states and countries. It’s up until April 30 at Mitchell Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library, 37 Harrison St., New Haven; (203) 946-8117.

Tuesday, April 17
More art—it’s surely the season for strolling around downtown and looking at cool random stuff. Tim Nikiforuk’s colorful “anomaly” organisms and Blinn Jacobs’ boldly shaped meshed designs are hanging on the fourth floor of First Niagara, 195 Church St., New Haven. The exhibit, organized by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven (203-772-2788) is up through June 15. The artist’s reception is today from 5-7 p.m.

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Wednesday, April 18
Stetson Branch of the NHFPL is holding a Family Night, and one of the families is the Kalimba family of musical instruments, various types of “thumb pianos” you can find in cultures around the world. Mark Ingram tickles an array of “Kalimbas from Africa and the Americas”. 6 p.m., 200 Dixwell Ave., New Haven. (203) 946-8119. Free, plus refreshments!

If a Family Night isn’t your thing, head over to The Space in Hamden to hear Into It. Over it. Think indie pop with a dash of power emo. Singer Evan Weiss reminds of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard but the band as a whole explores a wider sonic palette. Doors at 7 p.m., tickets are $10.

Thursday, April 19
Felix Mendelssohn composed four duets for cello and piano, and you can hear Clive Greensmith and Wei-Yi Yang play all of them for free, 8 p.m. at the Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven. (203) 432-4158, tickets here.

Friday, April 20The Realistic Joneses is a new perception-bending comedy by Will Eno, who wrote the Off Broadway hit Thom Pain (based on nothing). This world premiere is the final show of the Yale Repertory Theatre’s current season, and boasts an incredible cast: hard-working character actors Johanna Day and Glen Fitzgerald, actor/playwright Tracy Letts (who belongs to Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf company and wrote the Pulitzer-winning August: Osage County) and indie-film superstar Parker Posey. The Realistic Joneses gets real through May 12 at 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. (203) 432-1234.

Saturday, April 21
The Shakespeare at Yale celebration has permeated campus life all semester. Today there are three separate undergraduate performance events in the series, spanning centuries and sensibilities but all in the finest bard-bonding spirit. West Side Story, the Arthur Laurents/Leonard Bernstein musical based on Romeo and Juliet, rumbles at 2 & 8 p.m. in the Off Broadway Theater (41 Broadway, New Haven; down the path behind Toad’s Place on York St.; tickets are free but you must request them via email).

Hamlet, a senior thesis project for Justin Dobies, ends its six-performance April 13-21 run tonight at 8 p.m. in the Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St., New Haven; reserve free tix through yale.edu/ydc).

There’s also a student rendition of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company’s hilarious The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), opening tonight at 8 p.m. and also playing Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. at Yale’s Linsly-Chittenden Hall (63 High St., New Haven; once again, it’s free—reserve them here).

There’s even a lecture on “Character Studies: Portraying Shakespeare’s Richard III in Words and Image,” by Yale curator Helen A. Cooper and English/Theater Prof Murray Biggs, 2 p.m. at the Yale University Art Gallery (1111 Chapel St., New Haven; 203-432-0600). The focus will be on Edwin Austin Abbey’s painting “Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the Lady Anne,” which the gallery owns.

Shakespeare at Yale indeed. Will there be room for anyone else?

Sunday, April 22
A soaring assembly of gospel greats make a joyful noise at Toad’s tonight for the recording of a new live album by local vocalist Kevin Monroe and his 16-piece group Devotion. Special guests include Edwin Hawkins (who produced Monroe’s debut album, Life is a Gift, in 2002), Donald Lawrence of Chicago’s Tri-City Singers, Bridgeport’s JJ Hairston, and Toad’s Place’s own Rohn Lawrence, who plays jazz/soul guitar every Monday night in the club’s Lily’s Pad. The show starts at 6 p.m.—that’s a lot of devotion. $10. 300 York St., New Haven; (203) 624-TOAD.

About Christopher Arnott

Christopher Arnott has written about arts and culture in Connecticut for over 25 years. His journalism has won local, regional and national awards, and he has been honored with an Arts Award from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. He posts daily at his own sites www.scribblers.us and New Haven Theater Jerk (www.scribblers.us/nhtj).